Vacuum - Edward Vielmetti in Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

Ann Arbor sign ordinances

If your neighbor erects a giant sign on their lawn, or on the side of their house, what is your recourse?

UPDATE: In Ann Arbor the simple and direct way to deal with this is to call the city's Community Standards department at 734-994-1613. A neighbor who has been through this before says that they deal with sign problems promptly.

The appropriate part of the city code reads as follows. NOTE: This is not the official city code site! Find it and read it before complaining.

- PDF from the Ann Arbor Board of Realtors:

5:504. Residence signs.

(1) Single and 2-family houses. Townhouses and detached single-family and duplex
houses are permitted signs having a total area of 3 square feet indicating the address and
names of the occupants.
(2) Multiple family residences. Apartment houses, fraternity houses, sorority houses,
cooperative houses, retirement homes, tourist homes and religious institutions are
permitted signs having a total area of 12 square feet indicating only the address, the
names of the occupants and the name of the building or organization.
(3) Subdivisions. Subdivisions of single and 2-family homes and housing complexes of
more than 1 apartment or town house building are permitted signs identifying the
subdivisions or housing complex. Such signs shall have an area of not more than 50
square feet and a height of not more than 8 feet. A subdivision or housing complex shall
not have a total of more than 2 such signs nor more than 1 per entrance.
(Ord. No. 55-74, 6-9-75; Ord. No. 33-82, 8-2-82)

5:505 Temporary signs.

Unilluminated on-premises temporary exterior signs may be erected in accordance with
the regulations of this section.
(1) Single and Two-Family Real Estate--For Sale Signs.
(a) A single sign with a maximum height of 48 inches and a maximum width of 36
inches, including the support structure and all riders, and with the bottom of the sign a
minimum of 6 inches from the ground, advertising the sale of a single or two-family
house or variant property adjacent to such a house is permitted.
(b) Such a sign shall be set back at least 15 feet from the street and at least 5 feet from
the inside edge of the sidewalk, or in accordance with Table 5:505 when conditions do
not permit such placement. Provided, that if a legally existing obstruction on the property
prevents the sign from being seen from the street when the sign is placed in accordance
with the foregoing placement requirements, then the sign may be affixed to or placed
immediately in front of such obstruction, so long as the display face of the sign is parallel
to the right-of-way line, and so long as the sign is not placed within the public right-of-
way.
(c) A sign advertising the sale of a property must be removed within 48 hours after the
closing on the sale.
(2) Single and Two-Family Real Estate--Rental Signs.
(a) A single sign with a maximum height of 48 inches and a maximum width of 36
inches, including the support structure and all riders, and with the bottom of the sign a
minimum of 6 inches from the ground, advertising the rental of a single or two-family
house or variant property adjacent to such a house is permitted.
(b) Such sign shall be set back at least 15 feet from the street and at least 5 feet from
the inside edge of the sidewalk, or in accordance with Table 5:505 when conditions do
not permit such placement. Provided, that if a legally existing obstruction on the property
prevents the sign from being seen from the street when the sign is placed in accordance
with the foregoing placement requirements, then the sign may be affixed to or placed
immediately in front of such obstruction, so long as the display face of the sign is parallel
to the right-of-way line, and so long as the sign is not placed within the public right-of-
way.
(c) A sign advertising the rental of a property must be removed within 48 hours after
the property is no longer available for rent.
(3) Real Estate. A sign with a total area not in excess of 12 square feet advertising the
sale or rental of real estate other than single or two-family houses is permitted pursuant to
a permit having a maximum duration of 120 days. It shall have a maximum height of 10
feet and shall be set back 25 feet unless attached to a permanent building.

The sign board of appeals home page:

Brenda Acquaviva, Appeal Board Administrative Support Specialist
(734) 994-2696 - Bacquaviva@a2gov.org

there's lots of broken links on that page.

Technorati Tags: annarbor, good-signs-make-good-neighbors, semiotics, sign

LA2M - Lunch Ann Arbor Marketing - Wednesday at Eastern Flame

Derek Mehraban organized the first weekly Wednesday downtown Ann Arbor lunch for people in the marketing world at Eastern Flame on Ashley next to the Fleetwood Diner. He's calling it LA2M.

You can see what a QSL card for LA2M looks like from the 1920s. Derek, if you want to print a sticker, you have a design ready-made.

There were 12 for lunch for the first event, and the restaurant obliged with a soup and sandwich for $5 special. I ate the soup there, took the sandwich to go, and had a good time talking with a Michigan State University undergraduate advertising major, a digital public relations manager for a unit of Publicis, several of the residents of the brickyard, and folks who had come to Ann Arbor from Oakland County for the event.

Derek has been a big proponent of my weekly A2B3 Thursday lunch at Eastern Accents, and I'm happy to return the favor.

Technorati Tags: la2m, marketing, advertising, annarbor, a2b3, lunch, never-eat-lunch-alone

Internet Marketing Trends 2007

Slides from the Marketing Roundtable presentation - this has had 2000+ views on Slideshare already!

| View | Upload your own

Technorati Tags: marketing, trends, roundtable

Perry Marshall on marketing-speak

from one of his (many) emails encouraging me to sign up for one of his seminars;

so many marketing messages and advertisements seem artificial and sterile - because the people who write them are just taking their briefcase to work and 'doing their job'. They're not connecting with anyone's passion or angst. They're merely spouting techno-latin. They spew words like "innovative" and "ROI" and "core competency" and "data management solution" and nobody knows what anybody is talking about. Nor do they care.

"Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords (Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords)" (Perry Marshall, Bryan Todd)

Technorati Tags: adwords, perry-marshall, marketing, wordie, techno-latin

tigerstadiumsale.com - Detroit Tiger Stadium auction is open

tigerstadiumsale.com is up and running, auctioning off the contents of Tiger Stadium to the highest bidder.

Lot: 1 : At The Corner Of Trumbull And Michigan Stands This Sign. The Old English D On Top And Tiger Stadium sign Below The Winning Bidder On This Item Will Be Responsible For All Removal Costs Involved.

The auction is managed by Schneider Industries of St. Louis, and run on BidSpotter.com. Schneider managed the 2005 auction that dismantled Busch Stadium, which raised almost $900,000 (The Red Crush)

Technorati Tags: detroit, tigers, tiger-stadium, auction

3 of 10 Questions for Alicia Rockmore, Co-Founder of Buttoned Up

Alicia Rockmore, co-founder of Ann Arbor based Buttoned Up, was recently interviewed by the the All Financial Matters blog. 10 questions in the interview, some highlights:

How long did it take you to get your company’s products in Target stores?

2 years from when we started Buttoned Up.

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Do not give up. People will tell you what is wrong with your idea, why its already been done (there are no new ideas), etc… If you believe in what you are doing, keep at it and you will find success.

What motivates you?

I love the challenge of making products that will help women get organized and that will really mean something to them. There is no greater high than when people write or call and say they love our products.

Calder Dairy: milk delivery in Ann Arbor and other southeastern Michigan cities

We get a delivery of milk every week from Calder Dairy. The truck comes in on Tuesdays, they put glass bottles of milk into a cooler and pick up the empties, and we get a bill once a month (with a "Moosletter" with farm news on the back). The farm is in Carleton, which makes a nice trip for ice cream and to see the happy cows; the dairy in Lincoln Park also has an ice cream parlor (haven't been there yet).

The milk is really good, the ice cream is fabulous, and the cream (wow, farm cream).

Other people in the Ann Arbor area who have written about them include Trusty Getto (Ypsilanti), carfree ann arbor, Arbor Update, the U of M Resident Spouses Association, and Chow.

They deliver to routes in the following cities (from their web site)

* Ann Arbor * Saline * Chelsea * Dexter * Allen Park * Lincoln Park * Dearborn * Dearborn Heights * Grosse Isle * Flat Rock * Monroe * Carleton * Newport * Taylor * South Lyon * Livonia * Wyandotte * Ecorse * Southgate * Willis * Maybee * South Rockwood * Garden City * Westland * River Rouge * Trenton * Romulus * New Boston * Belleville * Melvindale * Ypsilanti * Canton * Plymouth

and you can pick up Calder milk locally from stores including the People's Food Coop.

Technorati Tags: calder, dairy, milk, delivery, annarbor